Local baseball buff fields pitch for historical treasures

Wednesday

Feb 5, 2014 at 12:01 AMFeb 5, 2014 at 1:56 PM

A central Ohio collector of baseball memorabilia, along with the Ohio Village Muffins, has helped the Travel Channel tell the story of a player who profoundly changed the game. William Arthur "Candy" Cummings, a pitcher in the National Association and National League in the 1860s and '70s, is credited with inventing the curveball - which led to the first glove for a sport that had previously been played barehanded.

A central Ohio collector of baseball memorabilia, along with the Ohio Village Muffins, has helped the Travel Channel tell the story of a player who profoundly changed the game.

William Arthur "Candy" Cummings, a pitcher in the National Association and National League in the 1860s and '70s, is credited with inventing the curveball - which led to the first glove for a sport that had previously been played barehanded.

The cable network will highlight Cummings' contribution to America's pastime on a Thursday episode of Mysteries at the Museum, a series that revisits U.S. history and historical treasures.

As part of the segment, Tracy Martin - a Grove City resident whose memorabilia collection spans more than 150 years - shows viewers an early glove and a player score card with the Cummings name.

"We strive to tell stories that take place in a historical landscape that people have some familiarity with but that contain a narrative twist that provides deeper understanding and insight," said Tim McConville, a Mysteries at the Museum producer.

"This story is a great example of that."

The Travel Channel found Martin through the Ohio Historical Society.

"In our early conversations with Tracy," McConville said, "it became clear that his insight and institution would lend itself to a great piece."

Martin, a driver for Waste Management, happily shared his knowledge and memorabilia.

"It's really great that a national show had the appreciation for the pieces in my collection," he said, "and (thought) it was deserving of being showcased in a really interesting re-enactment of one of the most important events in baseball history."

In working with the Travel Channel, Martin brought up his membership in the Ohio Village Muffins, the Columbus vintage baseball team made up of society volunteers who play according to 1860s rules.

Then the Muffins, too, became part of the Mysteries of the Museum episode, which was filmed in June.

The team re-creates Cummings' experiments with arm motions and various ball grips as well as parts of the game in which he first threw a curveball.

Rudy Frias, a Muffins member, portrays Cummings.

"He is a huge part of the history of baseball because now, in today's game, there are so many pitches; there are a thousand different grips for curveballs, sliders, knuckle balls," said Frias, an Ohio University alumnus who studied theater.

"So he really pioneered - blazed that trail - for pitchers to be able to control the game."